Elisabeth-Selbert-Haus Tapped for German Parliament in Berlin

New offices and an administrative building for the German Parliament will be built on one of Berlin’s most historic streets by the end of 2026 to replace the demolished building. The sustainable concept envisages the use of alternative energies, such as geothermal energy and photovoltaics. PORR was awarded the contract as general contractor for the project by the Institute for Federal Real Estate.

The building is named after the politician and lawyer Elisabeth Selbert, who is known as one of the four “Mothers of the Basic Law.” She successfully campaigned for the inclusion of equal rights for men and women in the German constitution, thereby making an important contribution to the history of German democracy.

The parliament building named after her on the corner of Unter den Linden and Schadowstraße will be completed by the end of 2026. With a gross floor area of around 13,000 square meters, the Elisabeth-Selbert-Haus will house around 200 offices. The L-shaped new building is divided into six full stories and a basement. The design by kleyer.koblitz.letzel.freivogel gesellschaft von architekten mbh imagines a spacious entrance foyer from which all office areas can be accessed via a sculpted spiral staircase. The main wing will have an interior with an open space spanning all the stories and transforming the corridors into galleries.

The building project presents multiple challenges. It is located on one of Berlin’s most historic streets, and so in the center of parliamentary democracy. Surrounded by historic buildings and directly beside embassies, the project is demanding in terms of architecture. In addition, the cramped inner-city location, having listed buildings as neighbors and a difficult building plot, require a high degree of planning and construction expertise.

PORR Spezialtiefbau is responsible for securing the existing structure and planning and executing the excavation pit; PORR Hochbau Region Ost is carrying out the building construction, while sister company pde Integrale Planung is responsible for Building Information Modeling coordination.

The building concept is consistently geared toward sustainability and provides for renewable energy production from geothermal energy and photovoltaics. The goal is also to secure certification based on the criteria of the Assessment System for the Sustainable Construction of Federal Buildings. In order to create optimal conditions for this, PORR is using Lean management and BIM methods for the design and construction. These enable a holistic, transparent visualization of the project over its entire lifecycle and promote fast decision-making processes, adherence to deadlines, cost transparency and efficient cooperation.

Facts and figures at a glance

• Project type: Building construction, specialist civil engineering
• Scope of services: Construction of the office and administrative building “Elisabeth-Selbert-Haus” as general contractor
• Client: Institute for Federal Real Estate (Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben)
• Contractor: PORR GmbH & Co. KGaA
• Project duration: December 2023 to December 2026